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Snow's article forces us to consider why some students, such as being a non-native speaker of the school's language, being a racial or ethnic minority, or living in poverty, are at higher risk when developing literacy skills. The Position Statement on Indigenous Peoples and People of Color in English and Language Arts Materials highlights how inequity is upheld by English and Language Arts curriculum. Do you think literacy is more affected by political factors, like holistic thinkers do, or because they have less well-developed skills, like componential thinkers do? What can teachers do to better assist students who are historically more at-risk for struggling with literacy development?

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Ta’Von had to work very hard to gain a sense of belonging and acceptance in his kindergarten classroom. Dyson states, “it is hard work to reduce social distance, particularly when it is reinforced by the tangled social forces of gender, race, and class. It is not surprising, then, that the most playful and the most intellectually substantive interactions happened when Ta’Von was assigned a seat among children (like Vida) with whom he had negotiated common ground.”  What are ways that teachers can help students to find common ground? How can teachers establish a classroom community that is inclusive and safe for all students?

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Snow's article brings up important debates about how students develop literacy. Snow says that some skills, like vocabulary, knowing letter names, and phonological awareness, correlate with literacy outcomes. Do you think this is because these skills directly make it easier to learn to read, or is it because strength in these skills assumes a child has come from a richer environment for language and literacy development, and therefore are more prepared holistically to learn to read?

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Ta'Von's experiences in pre-school involved a lot of collaborative group work and educational play. He explained that in kindergarten, however, "you have to learn." Although he learned a lot in pre-school, he didn't seem to think there was a space for play in the kindergarten classroom. How can teachers meaningfully incorporate play in the classroom and allow students to take more control of their learning?

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Snow outlines various opposing views about how to define literacy, such as singular/coherent versus multiple/varied and school-focused versus home- and community-focused. What does literacy mean to you? What factors do you think are most influential in literacy development?

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I agree with a more holistic perspective that political and environment factors have a large role in literacy development. Children who have less access to resources and literacy exposure may struggle to see the relevance of developing lexical skills or be unfamiliar with academic language. Teachers must be sure they excluding students without as much prior knowledge by not addressing individual literacy components. However, Snow argues that excessive focus on technical skills can take away from motivation and seeing the deeper meaning in literature. If done properly, literacy has the potential to be a powerful expression of culture and a tool for connecting with others. We must adapt curriculum make it accessible to all students and reflective of their backgrounds.

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This is such a great question. I really like the way that Snow concluded her article by addressing the opposing perspectives at the end. In the end, she really emphasized the need to balance the two perspectives for the most effective literacy development of each child. However, I never really saw her address the interrelatedness of the two like you did in your question. I would say a little bit of both to answer your question. I think the holistic approach for small children will allow them to naturally pick up on some of the componential aspects of reading prior to explicit learning or make explicit learning easier since there is already a familiarity. Ultimately having some of those skills, I think,will make it easier to read.

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I think that there is truth to the theories proposed by both of the perspectives and I do not think that they are mutually exclusive. I think that the best way that teachers can combat it is by giving these students a balanced approach to literacy that incorporated ideas from the holistic and componential approach, sp that these children can experience and appreciate literacy as a whole.

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I think that the importance of factors vary in weight throughout one literacy development. I also think that literacy development is a continuous process. When children are young more functional, technical, componential aspects are more important than those factors are when a person is older. As a child gets older, I think reading becomes more transformational and culturally-situated. I think literacy as a whole encompasses all of that and can meet any student where they are at in their development.

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I think one way that teachers can do that is by incorporating time in the day designated for play. Additionally, I think teachers can let students use, explore and play with learning manipulates prior to giving them explicit instructions on how they are supposed to use the manipulative and what they are supposed to learn from it.

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I think teachers can incorporate low-risk activities that are aimed at incorporating the whole class in a fun way that highlights their commonalities and creates a shared experience among the students. I think also incorporating times for students to engage in an unstructured and informal way may be helpful as well.

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I think, in some way, the answer to  your question is both. Yes I think the skills directly made it easier for a child to learn to read. But, it is likely that the child developed these skills in a literacy-rich environment  if they come to school with these skills. I think the best way to foster literacy skills once students are in the classroom, is to allow students to use one another as a resource. If students can develop literacy skills in collaboration with one another, it can "level the playing field," and is especially helpful for emergent bilingual students.

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I agree with Britney, that there is truth to both perspectives. I think we, as teachers, should try to operate with both perspectives in mind. Teachers must understand the political factors that impact the literacy development of disadvantaged and underserved students. However, they also must focus on the technical skills that students need to be learning. The implementation of such skills, I believe, should be done with as much intrigue and excitement as possible to inspire motivation for all students.

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I think teachers should be mindful about where they seat their students. There is a fine line between seating students with commonalities together, and segregating students from the rest of the class. I think informal play is a great way for students to have one-on-one interactions. I also think community building projects can be helpful. For example, the "where I'm from" poem was a great exercise that can help students understand and get to know one another a little bit better. Additionally, teachers should inspire a classroom environment that is accepting and welcoming for all students. This norm should be built into the classroom on the first day.

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Although it is important for students to understand routines and organization, in the early grades (Kindergarten specifically) I think teachers can have a looser schedule to facilitate the transition from preschool to Kindergarten. Instead of saying "today we are going to have math, then reading, then art, then lunch, recess, and social studies," they can say "today we are going to explore numbers, alphabet sounds, and maps," for example. Framing the day around the topics of learning and the exploration of such, can help students to see the play in their school day. School should be fun, explorative, and playful. And if students need help to see this, then re-evaluating how we present certain subjects seems easy and valuable.

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I think that a child's literacy development oscillates from home-focused, to school-focused. Literacy, even in a small way, begins developing in the home. Then students go to school and develop more specific and focused skills. However, the school and home context are inseparable. Young students spend the vast majority of their day either at home, or at school, and they are absorbing new information in both of these domains. Therefore, I think close collaboration between school and home is very important, though also very challenging.

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I completely agree that there is truth to both the holistic approach and the componential view because there is a history of disadvantaged and underserved students who are not given the proper resources and funding in order for them to succeed, however within that community there are also children who have less well-developed skills because they may struggle with a learning disability. I believe that it is important as an educator to understand and be aware of the factors that influence historically at-risk populations such as politics and marginalization and be able to implement teaching that counteracts that. However, i
t is also just as important for teachers to be able to recognize students with special needs or understand how to accommodate individual needs in the classroom to minimize the less well-developed skills.

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I also agree that that those skills correlate to literacy because it both relates directly to the development of literacy skills and also may signify that the child might be exposed to more holistic approaches of teaching literacy. I believe that learning explicit skills such as phonological awareness and vocabulary will directly correlate with improved literacy, however I also believe that rich language environments will inevitably supplement the learning of these explicit skills. Therefore if children are only exposed to one approach, it is not as beneficial as having both a holistic and componential approach.

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In my perspective, a major factor of literacy development lies in the school-focused/home-focused nature of literacy development. Literacy development begins in the home even when a child is too young to be able to speak or read because they are constantly learning from their parents and observing their parents' literacy skills. Their own learning of more explicit literacy skills then begins to increase exponentially when they are placed in school. I believe that it is extremely important for parents to understand the role that the home environment plays in literacy development and understand that what students learn in school and at home are interrelated.

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I also agree that teachers must be mindful of how they seat students according to commonalities because it can easily become segregating in the classroom. I think teachers can foster commonality through having activities where students try to figure out things they have in common or are given prompts to talk about so they can get to know each others differences as well. I think teachers can create a safe and inclusive environment by highlighting the similarities and differences in the classroom and spread a message of how differences are not meant to be extinguished but that they can be celebrated as well.

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I think teachers can incorporate meaningful play into the classroom by designating a time of play at the end of the day such as a choice time where children can choose different types of play and activities that they may want to do. This fosters autonomy and allows children to take control of a part of their school day because they are given options. I also think that this allows students to still be centered around their learning and understand the important of the academic aspect of school while also understanding that the are allowed to play in school.

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In his preschool classroom, children had agency over their task choices which made them more motivated to engage. To expand on this idea, teachers should create active learning experiences throughout the day and let children decide how they want to represent their ideas. Further, teachers can create more opportunities for students to work together, even when completing typically independent or mundane tasks (reading or worksheets) to make the experience more rewarding.

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I believe skills in literacy are developed through practice and experience, both inside and outside of the classroom. It goes beyond just reading books or teaching phonics- kids constantly engage with literacy in their everyday lives. I think schools have a crucial responsibility to help kids expand their vocabulary, which will then help their comprehension and expression.

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Although teachers determine how a classroom is organized, it is more challenging to control how students interact with each other. In order to promote respectful communication, the teacher can help students learn about each other through daily circle or group meetings. The more students talk with each other about topics outside of school, the more likely they are to find commonalities.

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I also agree that these skills are essential for developing strong literacy, but they also reflect what resources a child has access to. It is not enough to simply learn each literary component, students must also be actively constructing meaning and making connections.  I really liked Snow's practical suggestions for creating meaningful experiences, including "reading books aloud and then talking about them, embedding reading and writing activities in language-rich play, and encouraging children to use mixtures of drawing and
unconventional writing to express themselves"

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I think this is a great question! I know a few people have already said they think the answer is potentially both, and I absolutely agree with that answer. a strong vocabulary and phonological awareness reflect a strong literacy environment at home while also supporting a child in their ongoing literacy development. I think this question also includes a factor of age. When children are younger and their brains are still developing rapidly, I think they would be more adaptable to fill the knowledge gaps in these areas. Therefore I would predict the answer to this question shifts as a child grows.  For example, when you are learning a new language at 13, having a strong background in vocabulary and phonological awareness will help you learn through your mechanical tools in navigating the language. But if you are learning a new language at 4, a strong vocabulary and phonological awareness would less important as mechanical tools because the brains flexibility would be filling in those gaps. I'm sorry this answer is so confusing. I really appreciate this question.

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I agree with the holistic approach which acknowledges the role of political atmosphere and environment on literacy discrepancy. I also think stereotype threat could play a role in this but to be entirely honest I find this a particularity complex idea and I am not solid enough in my understanding of stereotype threat to say so confidentially. I think the best way for teachers to address this is to incorporate both approaches of holistic and componential learning but also consider their own role in the political environment and examine their own implicit bias. We know every student is capable of success when they are given all the resources they need.

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One way I think teachers could establish classroom community is to create space for students to share who they are and how they define themselves. For example, a show and tell activity could give students the opportunity to express something about their home and family. Some one already mentioned the "Where I'm From" poem, which I think is a great example. People tend to have more in common that we think, and by talking about our diversity we create space to find unity.  Just as this question says, "negotiated common ground" is solid foundation from which to build positive interaction. I think structured sharing activities will create and foster that common ground.

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There should be room in the classroom for both structured and unstructured play. While it is crucial for young children to learn routine and organization, for a young child play and learning are often times one and the same. Play can be a part of that organization. For example, if a classroom has a half hour of time dedicated to unstructured play, there could also be a 5 minute period after dedicated to cleaning up and organizing the classroom. Here, children are given a chance to explore and be creative while also given a chance to practice orderly clean up and return to schedule. I also think it is important to facilitate structured group play to help children practice team work.

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For me, I think literacy was largely a home and community focused learning experience. I remember learning to read in school, moving through the red level books to the green books and finally the red books. But more than that I remember reading with my mom before bed. While school taught me the technical skills, my home environment taught me how to read simply to enjoy reading. However, I was lucky to have that home experiences and not every child is given that opportunity. For many children, the reading instruction at school is the only exposure to literacy they have. Therefore, while I agree that home and community are large factors in developing literacy, school environments should attempt to foster both those technical skills and those environmental  experiences whenever possible. I think this would be akin to the teacher taking time to read to the children from a book just above their level that the children can engage in and fall into the story while not focusing on the grammatical and technical aspects of the text.

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I think that teachers can help students find common group, by creating classroom routines that promote students sharing about themselves and their backgrounds. A potential routine that comes to mind is something one of my former teachers would call "Taco Tuesday." On Tuesdays in her class, we would have the opportunity to share a "Totally Awesome Cool Occasion" from our lives. This routine is something I looked forward to and it was a way in which I learned about my classmates. I think inclusion begins by encouraging students to bring their whole selves to the classroom, their authentic thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Establishing classroom routines focused on authentic sharing, allows students to incorporate these aspects of themselves into the classroom community.

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I think that it is difficult to replicate the play that occurs in preschool in subsequent classrooms. However, one thing that kindergarten teachers can do to ease the stress of this transition is to intentionally redefine what "play" and "fun" can look like in the context education. Kindergarten is not the place where joy goes to wither away, rather in kindergarten, students must come to understand the potential joy that is associated with learning and discovery. To effectively elicit these emotions, I believe that teachers must approach each new topic in class with a great deal of enthusiasm. Additionally, teachers can replicate the freedom of expression that is common during play time, during school work, by valuing new ideas as well as misconceptions.

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I agree with a lot of what other people have already mentioned, that literacy development is affected by both environmental and developmental factors. I believe that teachers can try and mitigate these factors by providing a rigorous curriculum for the acquirement of the technical skills associated with literacy, while also stressing the understanding that all students are readers and authors. I think that the political factors that impact a student's literacy can often incite feelings of inadequacy for those students who are affected by them. Therefore, teachers need to support student's cognitive and psychosocial approaches to literacy.

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I also think that the answer to this question is both. It makes sense that technical skills, such as phonological awareness, are associated with literacy outcomes. However, students who are advanced in these skills are likely from more affluent households. This pattern throughout education reminds me of the TedTalk we watched during last class. Although, high income households may have more resources to provide opportunities for early literacy development, there are cost-effective ways to promote literacy in early childhood by for example, parents reading aloud to their children. I believe that if this type of research was widely shared, perhaps by the schools themselves, parents could have a more developed toolbox for how they can support their children's literacy development.

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I think this is a very important question to discuss and acknowledge when teaching students. I think the answer would be both because they are intertwined with each other. It is inevitable for students from a higher socioeconomic background to receive education from a richer environment for language and literacy development. However, practicing skills such as knowing letter names and vocabulary can definitely improve their literacy outcomes. Therefore, it is important for teachers to make sure the students have the basic fundamental knowledge in order to improve their literacy outcomes by providing more resources regardless of their backgrounds.

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As many others have mentioned in their responses, I think the answer must be that both specific skills and a literacy environment contribute to improved literacy outcomes. I think it is the responsibility of teachers to provide both for their students. In order to do this we should understand the literacy backgrounds so that we can draw upon the resources students bring to the classroom, including their strengths in specific skills and their general understanding of the purpose of literacy.

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I believe that literacy skills are acquired through repeated and varied participation in literacy activities. The activities that I am referring to encompass a wide variety of experiences, that tend to be leveraged by the adults or teachers in students lives. In this way, literacy is a social process, because access to these experiences are controlled by what those authority figures are willing and able to provide.

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I'm glad you've posed this question as it's something I'm constantly thinking about. I think students are much more likely to succeed (both on tests and in their love of learning) if they feel safe and valued in the classroom. I think that teachers can foster this kind of environment by using inclusive language and materials, as well as implementing ways for students to authentically share about themselves. Additionally, I think it is important for teachers to consider how they uphold the "hidden curriculum" in their classrooms and actively participate in dismantling the ways in which it may exclude students from historically marginalized communities.

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I thought Snow's use of these opposing views was helpful in defining the various viewpoints on the development of literacy. One that stuck out to me was solitary vs. social because it got at a part of literacy development that I see as very important: the use of texts to connect people. As she points out towards the end, even when reading is a solitary activity it can bring you into a community (e.g. Harry Potter) and be a source of joy. I think this passion for reading that often leads to connection with others is especially important is the development of literacy because it can motivate children to continue reading and give them confidence in an academic skill.

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One thing I think is important to note about bringing play into the classroom is that different children see different activities as play. For example, Dyson wrote about how Ta'von didn't see the centers in kindergarten as play, but I can imagine that other students might. When incorporating play into the classroom, teachers should consider including a variety of activities and consult with their students to learn what they see as most engaging and fun.

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I think I tend to lean more towards the holistic view in seeing the disparity in student outcomes as a result of the political failure of providing people with the resources necessary to thrive. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored all of the ways in which schools provide such resources for students, such as meals. On the macro-level, I think that teachers can support students at risk for struggling with literacy skills by advocating for better funding of schools and more aid for struggling families. I think it is important to consider the help students may need outside of the classroom.

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I think literacy is definitely affected by the political factors more than the students having less well-developed skills. Like I mentioned in the other response, I believe that your socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, background does play a role in the education you receive. However, as a bilingual student, it is difficult for many children to speak fluently in two different languages quickly. Teachers need to make sure they get to know the students to see if they are actually having developmental skill issues or if they are just adjusting/absorbing the new language. I remember when I was in preschool, I had a difficult time and would come home without saying a word at school. However, it was not because I had a learning disability, but it was more because I was observing and learning the language in my classroom environment through the teacher and peers before I was comfortable enough to finally say my first few phrases.